The San Juan County Economic Development Council will offer free training in plumbing basics this January, sponsored by the Washington State Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund and by the Washington State Department of Commerce.

The course will be taught at the Friday Harbor High School STEM Center by Brent Huntington. The program is intended to benefit participating students as well as local plumbing companies in need of skilled employees. The hands-on curriculum has been designed for students and career changers and will include a history of plumbing, career information, tool usage, standard plumbing code, safety and more. This class is free to residents of San Juan County, but space is limited and requires preregistration as well as a filing fee of $10.

The course will run from 4-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from Jan. 29 through Feb. 26. The deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 25. To apply, visit the EDC’s website at www.sanjuansedc.org/trades. For more information, call the EDC office at 360-378-2906 or email the EDC trades coordinator at glenn@sanjuansedc.org.

This program is sponsored by Gov. Jay Inslee’s Strategic Reserve Fund and by the Washington State Department of Commerce. The EDC’s Trades Education Initiative is additionally supported by San Juan County, the Town of Friday Harbor, the Port of Friday Harbor, San Juan Island School District, Heritage Bank and Islanders Bank.